According to him, the unemployment rate in Malaysia is at 3.1%, which is as good as 100% employment, so the focus now is on the increase of wages.
“There are around 150,000 Malaysians who commute daily to Singapore to work there,” he said, adding that including those who live in Singapore, there could be around 200,000 Malaysians working in Singapore,” he said.
He noted that employment in Malaysia is good enough, and even quipped that there are enough opportunities for even foreigners.
Earlier in his speech, Dr. S. Subramaniam added that the current Economic Transformation Program embarked by the government is focussed on transforming Malaysia into a high income nation by 2020, whereby the country’s gross national income per capita will increase from RM23,700 in 2009 to more than RM48,000.
He was speaking to reporters after the launch of The People’s Edge Magazine.
Meanwhile, the minister lauded the magazine, published by Job Hunt Group, as it was devoted to the development of the nation’s human capital management. “I have had a quick look at the magazine and I can see that it is full of interesting information on the field of HR and human capital development where the latest trends, information, views and efforts in these fields taken by the government and its agencies and the private sector are showcased, discussed and analysed,” he said during the speech.
Job Hung’s Group Executive Director, Dato’ (Dr) Michael C.H. Wong, in his speech, noted that as a specialist in human capital solutions, the publisher saw a gap for a publication that addresses Human Capital management from a wholly Malaysian perspective.
“So, we took a proactive approach and invested in this direction to broaden our commitment, in ‘Developing Malaysia’s Human Capital’, which is our tagline for our Human Capital magazine, People’s Edge,” he said.
